Monday Update, September 21, 2009
Incident: Tumblebug Complex Wildfire
Released: 9/21/2009
Tumblebug Complex Daily Update, September 21, 2009
As expected, fires within the Tumblebug Complex were pushed by the increasing east wind Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. Relative humidities are in the 20's and dropping, increasing fire growth. The fire crossed handlines on the south side, with movement to the west expected today. Acreage determination was difficult because of the smoke and the changing situation.
An infrared flight over the fire late last night detected significant hot spots outside the established fire line on the south side of the fire. Fire managers estimate total fire acreage is 518.
The Northwest Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team, a Type Two fire management team led by Carl West assumed command of the complex at 6:00 this morning. "We plan to continue the good work of the Cascade Interagency Type 3 Team," said West, "The NW Oregon Team has tended a lot of fire on this Forest over the years, and many of us know this ground well. This week's weather will cause the fire to spread. We will aggressively attack when and where we can safely do so, and use contingency lines with burnout in the future as a fallback."
East winds are expected to continue at speeds of between nine and 12 miles per hour with gusts to 22 today, with relatives humidities dropping to as low as single digits. Fire fighters are urged to maintain heightened situational awareness today, and to be prepared to move quickly away from the fire area if they observe rapidly changing fire behavior that could compromise safety.
Fire danger components are approaching historically high levels for this time of year. The fires are burning in stands of very old trees with very high amounts of extremely dry fuel standing and on the ground.
Forest Road closures (see side bar) remain in place to ensure public safety.
Fire at a Glance:
Size: 518 Acres
Location: 24 miles SE of Oakridge, Oregon
Containment: 10%
Cause: Lightning, on 9/12
Personnel: 592
Helicopters: 7
Crews: 14
Engines: 13
Dozers 3
Tenders 12
Closures/Restrictions:
The following Forest Roads are closed: 2144, 2153-370, 2153-375, 2153-369, 2144-305, 2143-311.
An area closure is in effect. The complete description and a map of the area is posted on the incident website.
Sacandaga Campground is the spike camp for 100+ firefighters and is therefore not available to the public.
